Mask on unlock

The latest iOS 15.4 release brings a super welcomed feature: the ability to unlock Face ID with masks on. Ever since this pandemic became a thing, it has been a real pain in the butt to unlock our iPhones whilst masked up. Sure, lucky Apple Watch owners have been able to unlock their iPhones with it for some time. But I obviously don’t have one. Smug friends with Android phones simply use their fingerprints to unlock, a feature Apple abandoned a few years ago in favor of Face ID.

Not ever expecting the world to mask up entirely for over two years and counting.

Anyways, finally I can unlock my iPhone with my mask on while I’m on campus. No more waiting for the phone to reject the face scan, then punching in the backup PIN numbers. How does it work? It seems the camera is scanning more closely the areas around the eyes. I did have to do a full Face ID rescan in order to activate this new mask-on feature. It’s still rather sensitive: it doesn’t work with sunglasses. If I wear my hat low or my mask higher on the face, the phone rejects the scan.

I bet if I were to get punched in the eye, it wouldn’t work either. Not that I’m aching to test that hypothesis. I’m sure Face ID with masks on will only continue to improve.

But it may be too little, too late. The Bay Area no longer have an indoor mask mandate. There’s still one at San Francisco State University - where I work - but that’s likely to go away in April as well. Pretty soon I won’t have wear a mask daily for eight hours. It’s not that I mind wearing a mask (us Asians have had a masking culture long before the advent of COVID), but long-term usage makes my face break out in pimples. Given the option to not wear one at work, I would definitely choose to do that.

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I don’t always drink coke. But When I do.

Face ID: the verdict

Apple's Face ID on the iPhone X works just as well as Touch ID, and that is excellent indeed for a first generation technology. Having used the iPhone X for a month now, Face ID has integrated nicely to the workflow, and its infrequent hiccups are no more annoying than those of Touch ID. 

When it works, Face ID is imperceptibly fast; the mechanics of it disappears into the background. Looking at the phone as I swipe up from the bottom in one combo motion, and it unlocks like magic. The only time I even notice Face ID is at work is when it inevitably doesn't work: having the phone buzz at you and prompting a passcode entry is as baffling an experience as Touch ID rejecting my thumb because it's slightly damp.

Thankfully, those moments occurring are miniscule, and half the time it's my fault (if alive, Steve Jobs would say I'm using it wrong). To the surprise of nobody, Face ID doesn't work when my face is half covered by a pillow or wearing a face mask. Sometimes even too sudden of a change in hairstyle - if I were to flip my hair up from its usual down position - would trigger a recognition failure. I hope hats don't interfere, because I've yet to use Face ID while wearing one.

As I've said in my initial impressions, I think Face ID needs an additional biometric layer to complement the base systems: a retinal scanner can alleviate times when the face is covered with a mask, or I happen to be scratching my nose. Being able to still securely unlock the iPhone with an impeded face would be the ultimate. 

What Apple has engineered with Face ID is phenomenal: it's an exponentially better and more complete user experience right out the gate than Touch ID's initial debut. With further software development and deeper machine learning, I hope the technology gets better and migrates to other Apple products. It would be lovely on an iMac. 

iPhone X first impressions

It turns out I was lucky enough to have my iPhone X order bumped up from the original third week of November date to it getting delivered yesterday afternoon. Major kudos to Apple's supply chain prowess: to launch a brand-new phone simultaneously in 55 countries where initial demand is surely in the tens of millions is an astonishing feat. 

Or perhaps that's just happy me who got his iPhone X way earlier that expected talking. 

Nevertheless, I've had about a day's worth of use, and here are some preliminary impressions: 

• Face ID is fast and works seamlessly in all lighting conditions. That said, Touch ID is still faster, which is expected as the fingerprint technology is matured while this is the first go for Face ID.
• One Face ID quirk for winter months: it doesn't work if you're wearing a mask/half the face is covered. I hope in future iterations the Face ID system will add technologies like retinal scanning to its repertoire so that it can unlock the phone under more situations. 
• The OLED screen is perfection. It makes even my 5K iMac display look pedestrian by comparison: infinite contrast ratio, precise calibration, and fantastic viewing angles. I'm glad Apple waited this long to introduce OLED in the iPhone because early Samsung OLED screens were atrocious.
• With the combination of glass front and back with polished stainless-steel surround, the X is the best feeling iPhone to the hand since iPhone 4. There is no chance I'm putting a case on it; the back glass is grippy enough - an upgrade from the soap-like aluminum of iPhone 6 and 7. 
• I don't miss the home button: swiping up from the bottom edge is quite natural. What isn't natural is the gesture it replaces: control center - it's now swipe down from top right. Rejiggering that muscle memory will take longer.
• Of course, apps that have yet to be optimized for the new display arrangement look awkward at best and unusable at worse. Most frustrating part is the keyboard - outdated apps don't use the new keyboard layout, and your muscle memory will hate you. 
• The X is slightly heavier than the 7 Plus, even though it's dimensionally smaller. I personally don't mind it because it'll be less prone to fly out of my hands/easier to clutch. 
• True-tone is so amazing that I wish all my other displays have it. I turn it off when I need to do photography work (read: instagram), but otherwise it's a pleasure on the eyes. 

More in the weeks to come as I get familiar with the phone, including taking it on a trip to Taiwan during Thanksgiving week.